Rotary Club Event

The Born Free Foundation team headed to Manchester on the 7th April to take part in a weekend conference organised by Rotary International Great Britain and Ireland. It was a great opportunity to meet nearly 2,000 Rotarians and share our common values of care, compassion and sustainability.

A number of inspiring people motivated the audience with their incredible stories including television presenter and Olympic wheelchair basketball player, Ade Adepitan, journalist, politician and UNICEF Ambassador, Martin Bell, and Born Free’s own Virginia McKenna and Will Travers. The weekend got off to a great start on the Friday evening with a Centenary Dinner at Midland Hotel followed by the main events on Saturday and Sunday.

Every year the conference brings Rotarians together to share inspiring stories and life-changing experiences. Virginia and Will spoke about their unique journey from the days making the film Born Free in 1964, to the establishment of the charity in 1984and the part that Born Free plays today in championing animal welfare, working with communities and helping secure a better future of wildlife in the wild, where it belongs.

Katie Marshall, our Youth Ambassador, sang to the packed auditorium and Virginia did her best to keep up with the never ending book signing requests and photo opportunities. Born Free’s Emma and Sharon made sure the BF stand stood out amongst the crowd in a huge room full of organisations dedicated to making lives better of influential charities and, without doubt, the event was an all-round success.

Born Free hopes the conference will be another step forward in our growing relationship with Rotarians. What an inspiring event from a voluntary community doing so much good, many thanks to Rotary UK and Ireland President, Eve Conway, for her kind invitation and generous hospitality.